Pallet

ABSTRACT

The present invention is in the field of pallets for mechanical handling of stacked goods that is waterproof and resistant to bacterial and mold contamination under a wide range of operating temperatures.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/448,004, entitled “Pallett,” filed Jan. 19, 2017.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of pallets for mechanical handling of stacked goods.

BACKGROUND

It is well known that a pallet is a piece of equipment that facilitates mechanical handling of stacked or palletized goods. Typically fork-lift trucks are used to move the palletized goods by lifting the pallet. Pallets are usually made of rough or undressed wood and commonly 4×4 feet (1.2×1 meter in Europe) in dimensions. Pallets are to carry loads of about 700 pounds and can serve as a base for assembling, handling, sorting, storing, and transporting goods as a unit load. Job specific pallets come in different designs and dimensions. For international shipping wooden pallets must be treated in a heat treat chamber that meets ISPM 15 regulations for export. This insures that there is not an export of mold, pests, or other contaminants inside the pallet's wood. This disadvantage also limits standard pallets use in the handling of food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics due to the possibility of contamination. Therefore, it would be useful to have a pallet that did not require heat treatment before export. The disclosed invention meets this need by creating a pallet that is waterproof and resistant to bacterial and mold contamination under a wide range of operating temperatures, complies with ISPM 15 standards for overseas shipments without heat treatment, does not absorb humidity or other moisture, is washable and easy to clean, weighs less than equivalent wooden pallets of the same dimensions, has no sharp edges, nails, or splinters to damage personnel or goods, and is safe and easy to handle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The Description of the preferred embodiment will be better understood with reference to the following figures:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the inventive pallet.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the inventive pallet.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the inventive pallet.

FIG. 4 is side view of the inventive pallet.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the inventive pallet.

DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and/or use the invention. For purposes of explanation, specific nomenclature is set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Descriptions of specific embodiments or applications are provided only as examples. Various modifications to the embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest possible scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

FIG. 1 is a top view of the inventive pallet 1 which is comprised of a plurality of runners 2 which are located on the inside of the pallet 1 and a plurality of decking slats 3 which are located on the top 4 and bottom 5 of the pallet. In preferred embodiments the runners 2 and decking slats 3 are constructed of rigid plastic that complies with ISPM 15 standards for overseas shipments without heat treatment, does not absorb humidity or other moisture, is washable and easy to clean, and weighs less than equivalent wooden pallets of the same dimension. This may include various new plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, glass packed nylon, or other such material. In one particularly useful embodiment the runners 2 and decking slats 3 are made from recycled auto parts which create increased rigidity and lower production costs. In the preferred embodiment, the inventive pallet comprises three runners 2 and fourteen decking slats 3.

Typically pallets are constructed with wide and narrow decking attached to the top and bottoms of three runners to make a pallet. In the preferred embodiment, the decking slats 3 consist of four wide decking slats 6 and ten narrow decking slats 10. Two pieces of wide decking 6 attach to the left 7 end and two pieces of wide decking 6 attached to the right 8 end of three runners 2. The wide decking 6 is preferably 5.5 inches wide to allow for three point connections 9 to each runner 2. Ten pieces of narrow decking 10 are then attached to the runners 2 between the pieces of wide decking 6. Five pieces of narrow decking 10 are placed on the top 4 of the runners and five pieces of narrow decking 10 are placed on the bottom 5.

The decking slats 3 may be configured to allow liquids to pass through the pallet 1 to aid in drying. In the preferred embodiment, a plurality of triangular patterns 11 are molded into the top 12 of each decking slat 3. These triangular configurations 11 allow for increased air flow and drainage, however, any pattern that facilitates increased air flow and drainage will work. On the underside 13 of each decking slat 3, tapering 14 can be utilized to facilitate drainage out of the triangular configurations 11.

The inside 15 of a runners 2 contains a support lattice 16. In the preferred embodiment, the support lattice 16 is configured with a triangular support pattern 17 to supply strength to the runner 2. The legs 18 of the triangles contained in triangular support pattern 17 of lattice 16 are defined by vertical 19 and horizontal 20 supports. The hypotenuse of the triangles contained in the triangular support pattern 17 is defined by a support 21 that connects the vertical 19 and horizontal 20 supports. Each support 19, 20, 21 is configured with a draft angle 22 to facilitate the drainage of liquid from the pallet 1. The draft angle 22 is created by tapering the thickness of the supports 19, 20, 21 from the center 23 of where supports 19, 20 and 21 meet to the outer edge 24 of support lattice 16 to create an outward pitch from the center 23 of the supports 19, 20 and 21. When a liquid encounters the draft angle 22, gravity forces the liquid to the outer edge 24 of the support lattice 16 much like the pitch of a roof on a house.

The runners 2 are also formed with shock stoppers 25 to prevent the removal of the decking slats 3 when impacted by the forklift. In the preferred embodiment, each runner 2 is equipped with six shock stoppers 25 on the top and six shock stoppers 25 on the bottom. The shock stoppers 25 are preferably 3.5 inches in length to provide for even spacing between the decking slats 3. Shock stoppers 25 are also preferably the same height and width of the decking slats 3. In the preferred embodiment the height of decking slats 3 is ⅝ inch.

As shown in FIG. 2, two notches 26 are placed in the bottom of the runner to allow the pallet 1 to be lifted from the ground by a fork lift. The notches 26 are typically placed so that there is 6 inches of the runner 2 between each notch 26 and the edge of the pallet 1. Eighteen inches of runner 2 is generally left between notches 26. In the preferred embodiment each notch 26 is 9 inches wide and between 1.5 and 2.5 inches tall. Between the shock stoppers 25, the runner 2 is configured with triangular tails 27. These tails 27 are designed to fit into corresponding pins 28 in the decking slats 3 when the pallet 1 is assembled. Three tails 27 are used for each connection with the wide decking 6 and two tails 27 are used for each connection with the narrow decking 10. Once assembled, a tab 29 is snapped out to hold the tails 27 inside the channel between the corresponding pins 28 in the decking 30. 

1. A pallet comprising: a plurality of runners wherein said runners include a support lattice with a triangular support pattern; a plurality of decking slats; a means for directly connecting said plurality of runners to said plurality of decking slats.
 2. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the means for directly connecting said plurality of runners to said plurality of decking slats comprises triangular tails on the runner designed to fit into corresponding pins in the decking slats.
 3. The pallet of claim 1 wherein said runners further comprise shock stoppers to prevent the removal of the decking slats when impacted by a forklift.
 4. The pallet of claim 3 wherein six shock stoppers are placed on the top of the pallet and six shock stoppers are placed on the bottom of the pallet.
 5. The pallet of claim 4 wherein the shock stoppers provide for even spacing between the decking slats.
 6. The pallet of claim 4 wherein the shock stoppers are the same height and width of the decking slats.
 7. The pallet of claim 2 wherein two notches are placed in the bottom of each runner to allow the pallet to be lifted from the ground by a fork lift.
 8. The pallet of claim 7 wherein the notches are placed so that there is six inches of the runner between each notch and edge of the pallet.
 9. The pallet of claim 8 wherein eighteen inches of runner is left between the notches.
 10. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the inventive pallet comprises three runners and fourteen decking slats.
 11. The pallet of claim 10 wherein the fourteen decking slats consist of four wide decking slats and ten narrow decking slats.
 12. The pallet of claim 11 wherein two pieces of wide decking slats attach to a left end of the runners and two pieces of wide decking slats attach to a right end of the runners.
 13. The pallet of claim 12 wherein the ten pieces of narrow decking slats are attached to the runners between the pieces of wide decking slats.
 14. The pallet of claim 12 wherein the wide decking slats have three point connections to each runner.
 15. The pallet of claim 13 wherein the narrow decking slats have two point connections to each runner.
 16. The pallet of claim 1 wherein a plurality of triangular patterns are molded into the top of each decking slat.
 17. The pallet of claim 1 wherein said decking slats further comprise tapering to facilitate drainage out of the triangular support pattern.
 18. The pallet of claim 1 wherein each side of the triangular support pattern of the support lattice is tapered from a center to an outer edge to create an outward pitch from the center of the support pattern.
 19. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the runners are constructed of rigid plastic.
 20. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the decking slats are constructed of rigid plastic. 